ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The airport in St. Augustine may have commercial flights back on its schedule by the end of the year.
Since 2018, no commercial flights have taken off here at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport.
Richard Goldman, the St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau Director said, "The feeling is we are significantly underserved."
First Coast News has obtained a copy of an application the airport has submitted, trying to get a federal grant to get commercial flights on the tarmac again.
In the application, a letter from American Airlines states its interest in providing that service with flights connecting St. Augustine to Charlotte, North Carolina and it’s hub.
Goldman said, "Their connection to Charlotte – if we’re so fortunate to get that -- connects with the rest of their system. And that’s to the rest of the country, and arguably to the rest of the world.”
American is a larger airline compared to the three commercial airlines that have flown into St. Augustine.
Skybus went bankrupt. Via went bankrupt.
Frontier moved out and to Jacksonville International Airport.
But is there enough demand now to land and keep a commercial flight here?Goldman and the airport's director believe there is.
For one, tourism is still strong in St. Augustine. It has even roared back to life after a Covid shutdown last year.
"We’re growing in terms of attractiveness as a destination," Goldman said.
And secondly, St. Johns County’s population continues to skyrocket.
According to the grant application, most of the people in St. Augustine and St. Johns County who fly somewhere, first have to drive. It's a one-hour drive to either the airport in Jacksonville or about a two-hour drive to the airport in Orlando.
According to the application, St. Augustine should learn in the summer if it will receive the grant. If it does, the airport plans glide into the commercial biz by the end of the year.